Are cabinet maker job opportunities growing or declining?

Are jobs in this industry on the rise? Are there any sub-sectors that are growing?

Where are the jobs? Which places have the most cabinet maker opportunities?

Host said: Are jobs in this industry on the rise? Are there any sub-sectors that are growing?

Where are the jobs? Which places have the most cabinet maker opportunities?

Cabinet maker jobs are not on the rise. As companys move towards automation skilled people are finding themselves in the U.I. line.
Add to that a measely salary of only 25 or 30 thousand per year. Who wants to live in poverty?

Custom cabinetry has been in a steady decline for some time now. As a cabinet maker who takes pride in his work, I find it very hard to make a decent living at this "skilled trade". The housing market and the overall economy are horrible right now for craftsman such as myself. I can only pray that home owners want to go with a custom product rather than all the pre-fab and home depot modulars.

cabinet making is a craft that is highly sought after! nothing beats a hands on cabinet making. no machine has a mind ! the machine is nothing with out the man !

I'm surprised to see that more haven't replied to this forum. Cabinet making isn't what it used to be. More and more shops are going fully automated. This means that their employees don't have to be experienced at all, a three year old can put a puzzle together, for that fact they don't even have to be able to read a measuring tape. Another reason for the down fall in cabinet making is what our "Do it yourself stores" are offering the customer, its a one stop shop, buy your whole house in one spot. I have seen cabinets shops give in the the competitors and change their shops into a full installation shops, selling the same pre-manufactured cabinets that the do it yourself stores offer, with only a few installation employees. The new generation likes everything the easy way, there are a few and I say a few that are still wanting a quality custom build kitchen etc, but that will be gone in the new generation, I believe.

As a custom cabinetmaker for the past 30+ years I have observed a steady tranformation to automated production resulting in a decline in skills the average cabinet shop worker is required to learn. The days of mentoring are pretty much over except in family run businesses and even then the skill set is fast changing from craftsman to machine operator.

This hardly comes as a surprise considering the fact that most of the homes being built are nothing compared to what was once considered the norm. Even the so-called high end homes currently being built are no comparison to those built 25 years ago. Sure, there is much talk about "green" or "leeds" building but these terms have no effect whatsoever on the overall quality of today's homes.

My point is that a custom cabinet craftsman cannot expect much of a market for this kind of product when the homes being built are as poorly constructed as the mass manufactured cabinets are. The public has been conditioned to associate speed with quality and, for the most part, don't really know the difference between a well constructed cabinet and one with a "pretty" facade over an inferior box.

I look for this situation to only get worse and have pretty much moved on in a different direction. It is a shame for so many old school craftsman to find themselves outdated.

After 32 years of actually learning furniture and cabinetry, a bricklayer or high school kid will get a job before I can.

Shops are closing all over around here Went from 700 houses a year to 5 or 10

Having been a carpenter / cabinetmaker for over 45 years, the trends have definitely changed since I was an apprentice in the UK. With the introduction of CNC equipment, it makes it possible for the small to medium shop to build a good quality cabinet assembled with less experienced tradesmen. This is not to say that there is not room for the most experienced cabinetmaker. The issue here is that the person who programs the computers that run machines are receiving better pay.
My advise, expand your horizons,find a niche, offer a better service utilizing the well earned skills you have learned. For those young enough, maybe a college course in a recognized associated software such as Microvelum and AutoCAD. Adding this to your talents will put you in a more favorable position in the cabinetmaking business of the future.